Assign Conversations to Team Members
Learn how to assign inbox conversations to specific team members, use @mentions for collaboration, and manage assignments.
Learn how to assign inbox conversations to specific team members, use @mentions for collaboration, and manage assignments.
This guide explains how to assign conversations in the JobsiteOn inbox to specific team members. You will learn how assignment creates ownership, how to assign from both the inbox list and the conversation detail view, how to use @mentions to collaborate, and how assignment notifications work.
By the end of this guide you will know how to:
Make sure you have these prerequisites:
Note: All team members with inbox access can see all conversations regardless of assignment. Assignment is about ownership and prioritization, not about restricting visibility.
Without assignment, your inbox is an unorganized queue where anyone might respond to anything. This leads to problems:
Assignment solves these problems by creating a clear owner for each conversation. When a conversation is assigned to you, it appears in your "Assigned to me" filter, making it easy to see exactly what you are responsible for.
The quickest way to assign multiple conversations is from the inbox list view.
Scroll through your inbox list or use search and filters to find the conversation you want to assign. See Search and Filter Conversations for advanced filtering.
Hover over the conversation in the list. An assignee avatar or assignment icon appears on the conversation row. Click it to open the assignment dropdown.
The dropdown shows a list of all team members with inbox access. Each entry shows:
Click a team member's name to assign the conversation to them.
The conversation row immediately updates to show the new assignee's avatar. The assignee receives a notification about the new assignment.
Tip: When distributing work across your team, glance at each person's assignment count in the dropdown. This helps you balance the workload evenly rather than overloading one team member.
When you are already reading a conversation and want to assign it, you can do so without going back to the list view.
Click a conversation in the inbox list to open its detail panel.
The assignment control is located in the conversation header area, typically near the top of the detail panel alongside other conversation metadata like status and contact information.
The control shows either:
Click the assignment control to open the team member dropdown. Select the person you want to assign the conversation to.
If the conversation is already assigned to someone, selecting a different person reassigns it. The previous assignee is notified that the conversation has been reassigned, and the new assignee is notified that they have been assigned.
After assigning, consider leaving an internal note explaining why you are handing off the conversation or what action the new assignee should take.
For example:
@Jennifer -- This customer is asking about our commercial pricing.
You handled their last project so you have the context. Can you
follow up with a quote by end of day?
This gives the assignee everything they need to take action without having to read the entire thread.
Tip: Always leave an internal note when reassigning a conversation, especially if the conversation is long. A quick summary of what the customer needs and what has been done so far saves the new assignee significant time.
If you see an unassigned conversation that you want to handle, you can assign it to yourself.
Some teams use a "pull" model where each team member checks the unassigned queue and self-assigns conversations they can handle. This works well when team members have different areas of expertise.
To remove the current assignee without assigning someone new:
The conversation returns to the unassigned pool where any team member can pick it up.
Note: Unassigning a conversation does not notify anyone. If you are removing yourself because you cannot handle it, leave an internal note explaining why so other team members know to pick it up.
Sometimes you need input from a colleague without transferring ownership of the conversation. This is where @mentions come in.
In any internal note, type @ followed by the team member's name. As you type, a suggestion list appears. Select the person you want to mention.
When you save the note, the mentioned team member receives a notification that draws their attention to the conversation. They can then open the conversation, read your note, and add their own note or reply.
| Assignment | @Mention | |
|---|---|---|
| Changes ownership | Yes | No |
| Notifies the person | Yes | Yes |
| Moves conversation to their queue | Yes | No |
| Best for | Handing off responsibility | Asking for input |
Use assignment when someone else should take over. Use @mentions when you want to keep ownership but need help or a second opinion.
When a conversation is assigned to a team member, they receive a notification through the following channels:
A notification badge appears on the inbox icon in the sidebar. Opening the inbox shows the newly assigned conversation highlighted or flagged.
Team members can filter their inbox to show only conversations assigned to them. This creates a personal to-do list of conversations that need their attention.
When a new assignment comes in, it immediately appears in this filtered view.
Tip: Start each day by checking your "Assigned to me" filter. This gives you an immediate view of all conversations waiting for your action, helping you prioritize your morning workflow.
If you need to assign multiple conversations at once (for example, when redistributing work or when a team member goes on vacation):
All selected conversations are assigned in one action, and the assignee receives a single notification summarizing the bulk assignment.
Check the following:
If team members report not receiving assignment notifications:
This may be a permissions issue. Assignment controls are available to team members with the appropriate role. Contact your workspace administrator to verify your role permissions include conversation assignment.
No. Each conversation can have only one assignee at a time. If multiple people need to be involved, assign it to the primary responsible person and use @mentions to loop in others.
No. Regardless of who is assigned to the conversation, all outbound replies come from your configured company email address. The customer does not see individual team member names or email addresses.
When a team member is removed from the workspace, their assigned conversations become unassigned. A workspace administrator should reassign these conversations to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. The full conversation history remains intact.
Yes. The conversation timeline tracks assignment changes. You can scroll through the timeline to see when the conversation was assigned, reassigned, or unassigned, and which team members were involved at each step.
Did this answer your question?